Rich, white, connected. How Uber rolled the taxi lobby and won the world

This story is hosted over on Crikey, where it is now out from behind the paywall! I’m rather pleased with it.

Here’s a little excerpt:

Uber’s marketing department gets a lot of attention for stunts. For example, during a recent promotion, Uber drivers delivered kittens to people who requested them through the app. People would play with the kittens and upload photos to social media.

It got a lot of press. But these sorts of stunts are the puff of smoke that happens while the magician is busy, not the real machinery of success.

This misdirection is all the more remarkable because what Uber has achieved is enormous. The company took on one of the most powerful industries, in one of the most heavily regulated sectors in the world, and won.